


Helpless

by PaperThinRevolutionary (SingFortissimo)



Series: King's College [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: College AU, First Date, First Meeting, King's College Series, M/M, Modern AU, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 12:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6194890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingFortissimo/pseuds/PaperThinRevolutionary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well… if you want anyone to spend the weekend with, let me know?” Alexander offered, scribbling his number in a messy (yet oddly beautiful and endearing) script.  </p><p>“I would love that…"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Helpless

John had never been this nervous in his life. 

John had also never gone somewhere so far away without his parents before. But John was also damn near an adult, and getting ready to move far away from his parents, so he could handle this on his own, right? Right.

Of course, he had been helped with everything until this point, booking his hotel, scheduling a campus tour, planning transportation, getting to the airport… But now he was in Manhattan, now… Now he felt so small and lost. It was worth it, though. He would be going to his dream school tomorrow to check everything out and start his admissions process. Plus, he had four days in New York. The tour was only one. He could get used to the new environment, maybe go see a show, go shopping… Who knew at that point. He knew he would spend a day in Central Park (he would probably spend a lot of his days in Central Park, if he were to be honest with himself), god there was just _so much to do_! 

First thing first, though. John had a campus tour to do. And of course, he was early. Early and antsy as hell. He had taken to doodling in one of his notebooks and fidgeting with his phone, flipping through his music at lightening speed until he could settle on a song, then flipping again once that song ended. He only had an hour before his tour, so there was no use in wandering (what if he got lost and missed the tour entirely?). Besides, any moment now, people would begin to arrive. He may not know any of them, but at least he wouldn’t be the awkward outsider there alone. 

The minutes, though, felt like hours as he waited, and soon he had filled up a few pages in his sketchbook, and he found himself listening to the same three songs on repeat (He had just caved and created a playlist for them at that point) until the other people began to flood into the grounds. He removed one earbud when someone began speaking, and was soon fumbling to wrap his earbuds and toss everything into his backpack. The woman who would be guiding the tour had arrived, and was beginning to explain what they had on the agenda for that incredibly long, but well worth it day. 

Throughout the tour, John stayed towards the back, piping up on rare occasions to ask a question and jot down a few notes. In the back of the group, he found another around his age, wise eyes, peach fuzz, and a smile to die for. He wasn’t one to keep to himself, John noted, as the stranger had something to say about _everything_. The strange part was, John wanted to hear all of it. Usually he just wanted to tune people out when they got to that point, but this stranger, taller than him with dark eyes, dark hair pulled back, and god, he’d say it again _that smile_ , he couldn’t help but want to hear what would come out next. 

By the end of the tour, everyone was in one of the dining halls settling in for a meal after their lengthy tour. John couldn't help but notice that the other was sitting off on his own, scribbling furiously in a notepad. He couldn’t tell if the other wanted to be bothered or not, but, well… It was worth a chance. John sucked in a deep breath and walked closer to the other with a nervous smile, standing across from him and clearing his throat. 

“Uhm, excuse me? Could I sit with you?” He asked, doing his best not to sound nervous. 

The other looked up from his paper, pen now tapping the notepad instead, and he gained one of those beautiful smiles again, aimed solely to John this time. It made his heart leap. 

“Of course.” He cleared away some of his scattered papers, clearing all but his immediate side of the clutter. John smiled and sat down, looking at all of his papers, then back up to the stranger. 

“So… You just have a lot to say in general, then, huh?” Smooth, John. 

But it earned a laugh, at least. 

“Yeah, well. You never know when you’ll run out of time… I’ve seen it happen enough. I don’t want anything to go unsaid.” 

John nodded a little bit, understanding all too well what the other meant. He pulled his own notebook out, figuring he could finish up some of his drawings at least, and he didn’t want to distract the other from… Whatever it was that he was doing. He seemed very invested, and very busy with it. 

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, until John finally had to break it again, curiosity nibbling away at his subconscious. “What’s your name, man?” He almost chirped, smiling when the stranger met his eyes. God, he could get lost in those eyes. 

“Alexander Hamilton.” He held out his hand, which John took without hesitation, giving it a firm shake. 

“John Laurens.” 

“It’s a pleasure.” 

“I was thinking the same.” 

With that aside, the two boys seemed much more open to conversation, now laughing and smiling as the time went by. Soon the rest of their group had dwindled from the cafe, and the two hopeful students sat alone, sharing stories and writings, sharing their aspirations (John’s in pursuing fine arts at the school _“even though my dad wants me to study Law”_ and Alexander’s in… Well, whatever he could study. _“I want to change the world.”_ ) Alexander at some point stealing John’s sketchbook and flipping through it in awe and wonder, complementing everything and chuckling every time he came across a small turtle doodled somewhere, which seemed to be commonplace. 

Their conversation had mellowed out a bit after about an hour, and began to lull into something more calm and easy to follow, not two brilliant minds going full-force. They still had those bright eyes, though, and they couldn’t seem to take them off of each other. 

“So.. John, do you live in Manhattan?” 

“South Carolina, actually. Charleston. What about you?” 

“I’ve been hopping around the area for a while… When do you go home?”

“Monday night.” John responded with a sigh. He was obviously not anticipating something about it, be it the journey or the idea of going home in and of itself. Luckily though, it was only Thursday evening, and John still had all the time to do whatever he could want to do. 

“You don’t seem happy about that…” Alexander frowned, brows knitting together (that was a look John wasn’t too sure he liked seeing. 

“Well… The sooner I get home, the sooner I can come back here and start my life.” John shrugged. “I mean, I love Charleston, but… My dad expects some things that I’m not all for. He wants me to do law, he wants me to stay home and work there, but… Well, honestly he doesn’t even want me to go to this school. I’m taking care of all of it on my own, paying whatever I need to, y’know.” He smiled a little, and it was quite sad, really. Alexander could tell that it was more than John was leading on, though. Definitely more…. But he didn’t want to dig, he didn’t want John to leave, honestly. 

“Well… if you want anyone to spend the weekend with, let me know?” Alexander offered, scribbling his number in a messy (yet oddly beautiful and endearing) script. John returned the favor on the back of an old doodle that had fallen out of his sketchbook. ( _“You kept commenting on the turtles, you can keep this one.”_ ) Alexander’s eyes lit up and his smile grew. God, John loved that sight. 

“I would love that… For now, though, I think I need to run. It’s starting to get dark, I don’t want to head back in complete darkness.” John said, beginning to pack his bag. He really didn’t want to leave, but, well, he knew it would be for the better in the long run. He had a lot planned for the next day, anyway, and he wanted to get a full night’s sleep now that the stress of the campus tour was over with. 

“Oh, yeah, I should probably get back, too.” Alexander said, slowly working to organize his own mess again and shove it haphazardly into his backpack with no regard for anything else that may have been in there. He smiled up to John, who swore that look could make him melt. “Let me know when you get back safe, yeah?” 

Taken aback by this, John stammered a bit and gave a grin. “Oh, uh… Yeah, of course.” He tossed the strap of his bag over his shoulder and waving to Alexander. “You too, yeah?” 

“Of course.” Alexander held his hand out to John again, who took it and gave it a firm shake in response. They stopped before separating though, taking the time to look into each others’ eyes, actually having to force themselves to break the contact and go their separate ways. John couldn’t help but notice he was just a bit taker than Alexander…

“I’ll talk to you tonight, then.” 

“Sounds good.” 

And with another smile and a wave, they were off, heading out of their way off into the Manhattan evening. 

~

John’s stomach was in a twist whenever he saw the little dots appear. God only knew what Alexander could be typing, anything was possible with that genius. They were texting each other almost all night after the tour, almost all day while John was out exploring, and it looked like they would be talking all night again. He was growing attached to the other quite quickly, and he would become giddy whenever he could see that Alexander was typing. John didn’t mind a bit, though, if he was going to be enamored with anyone, Alexander seemed like a good person to choose. 

The dots appeared and reappeared a few times until he got a message, then another and another… 

_Okay I’m sorry if this is weird._

_Okay is weird even the right word?_

_Sudden?_

_I don’t know, shit._

_Anyway._

_I was wondering, I know you only have a few more days in New York but would you like to get dinner with me tomorrow?_

_Like, together?_

_Shit, this is awkward._

_I made it awkward._

_Goddamnit._

John stared blankly as the messages just kept appearing, the dots never seeming to cease, until finally, the last message appeared, no more dots coming after it. 

_Do you want to go out tomorrow night, as in… A date..?_

His heart was racing at that point, looking at his phone in a bit of shock, but he found himself smiling like an idiot within minutes, trying to find the right words to respond. God, he never expected that (he kind of hoped for it, though, he would admit).   It didn’t strike him how long he must have been looking at the message, until another one came through:

_John? Oh, shit, did I ruin everything?_

John had snapped himself back to reality when his phone buzzed again, and he quickly responded, 

**No, it’s alright, sorry**

**I just didn’t expect that**

**I’d… Honestly, I’d love that. Where do you want to go?**

Alexander came back with a restaurant name almost immediately, followed by another immediate message. _Want me to pick you up?_

**I’ll walk, if that’s alright. I wanna get used to the city more.**

_Sounds like a good plan to me. I’ll meet you there, say… 5:30?_

**It’s a date.**

 ~

“Hey, John.. Sorry about that text wall, uh…”

“It’s okay, I was nervous, too.” John smiled and gave a sweet little laugh. Alexander was early, fifteen minutes early. Still fifteen minutes later than John, but that was alright. John managed to get a table, a nice table, too. One with a view. “It’s nice to see you, Alexander.” 

Alexander sat across from him, and John had to work not to get hypnotized by those eyes. “It’s nice to see you, too… Ah, you can call me Alex, though.” He said, then shuffled in his bag, setting down a small box in front of John. “I brought you a gift.”   
 John looked at the box, then up to Alex, feeling rather embarrassed that he didn’t think to bring anything. He would pay for dinner, then, at the very least, if not whatever they may do after. “May I?”

“Please.” 

John gently traced his fingers along the edge of the box, until he could lift the lid and peek inside. His eyes lit immediately. 

“I know it’s a little cheesy, but…” Alex shrugged, looking nervous as John lifted the small stuffed toy turtle from the box. “With all the drawings and everything, I.. Thought you might like it.” 

“I.. God, Alex, I love it.” He said, looking at the toy and holding as if it were the most precious and fragile thing he had ever been given. “Thank you so much.” John looked back at him and carefully set a hand on Alex’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. “This means so much.” 

Alex had earned a bit of pink in his cheeks, and he shrugged again, not looking John in the eye in fear of embarrassing himself even further. “I’m really glad you like it.” He confessed, now looking at John. The two surely looked like a pair of lovestruck high schoolers, one of them leaning their elbows on the table and holding a stuffed toy, the other leaning in a bit closer and now grinning, their eyes never breaking apart. 

John and Alex both had minds full of questions, but they kept it appropriate for a first date, mostly talking about their schooling and their friends (Alex was very excited at the idea of introducing John to someone named Lafayette), both boys eager to keep family _out_ of their conversations. Surely, they would talk about that eventually, but it definitely wasn’t the time for that later, even if it wasn’t face to face. 

They found that they bonded rather well over the meal, and Alex put up little fight when John insisted on paying for dinner, especially when John looked at him with those big eyes and threatened to pout his lower lip, (God, Alex couldn’t have handled that, he was pretty sure he would have just melted then and there). 

Once they were ready to leave, Alex offered his arm to John. “May I walk you back?” 

“That sounds wonderful.” John hooked their arms, leading Alex to his hotel at a relatively quick pace. He wasn’t used to the city yet, so he didn't really know what to anticipate in the area. Alex, though, seemed relaxed, completely in his element as they walked around. John was glad that the other had chosen Manhattan, because the city seemed like it made him glow brighter than he would anywhere else, which said quite a lot, John thought. Alex just… He glowed in general. John rather liked it. 

Their walk was relatively quiet, but not unpleasant. They could both get used to the other’s company (and they hoped they could). They stopped in front of a relatively nice building, Alex reluctantly unhooking their arms and taking a step back, moving so he was face to face with John. 

“So, looks like this is where I depart?” He tucked his hands into his pockets and leaned back on his heels, balancing himself as he looked John over again.

“Wait, Alex, before you leave- ” John shuffled in his bag a moment, holding up an old looking Polaroid camera, one of his favorite things. It was a rare occasion that he took a photo with it, but he always had it with him. “May I? One for each of us?” 

“You know, I would love that, John.” Alex grinned, wrapping an arm around John’s shoulder and pulling him close as John lifted the camera. The two were cheek to cheek, bright eyed and smiling when the flash went off. John took the photo and shook it carefully while Alex spoke again. “I’ll take the next one. You take mine, I’ll take yours?” John nodded and handed Alex his photo, but he didn’t look at it quite yet, instead taking the camera and mimicking John’s angle to assure the photo would be perfect.. This time, John pulled himself closer, but they were still cheek to cheek, looking like they had found their soul mate. 

Another camera flash, and a few seconds later, they held their photos side by side, John taking a photo of them together on his phone because he could, just to have both of them (God, he had a horrible habit of hoarding photos). Alex, of course, asked John to send the photo to him, which he did almost immediately. 

They stood side by side and smiled, looking at the photos for a moment before John piped up. “You know… I think we look pretty good together.” 

“I was thinking the same,” Alex responded, tilting his head to face John with a grin. “But, just for the sake of science… Whaddya say we take a few more before you leave? We could take one tomorrow at Central Park, say… Noon?” 

“It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> aaahhhhhhh 
> 
> these stories probably won't come in any particular order, just whenever i get an idea of the sweet bi babies at Columbia (King's College). 
> 
> ghhh i wish i could draw better, i really want their polaroids together ;u;
> 
> also, thank y'all for the sweet comments and all the hits/kudos on the first story, it means a lot to me <3


End file.
